Group C

Four years ago, the United States was grouped with Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic in the so-called “Group of Death”. The attention given to U.S. Soccer was due to a nice run they had in 2002. I’m not going to deny what happened in South Korea/Japan, but the media overrated the talent that the U.S. had in 2006. They wound up with one point and finished dead last. “Group of Death”, huh? (Insert expletive).

The real “Group of Death” is Group C in this year’s tournament, which, ironically, includes my country, Romania. When I heard of the groupings, I was—well, unpleased to say the least. You mean to tell me that I’ve had to wait eight VERY long years to watch my home country play Italy, France and the Netherlands? Is there any possible chance for a recount or reseeding of any type? Please?

Of the previous two groups I’ve previewed, none have been in any order according to euro2008.uefa.com. Group C will be in order with Romania being last. I don’t know how long it’ll be until I can write about Romania again.

First up, Les Bleus. The French team still remains one of the most dominant teams in Europe. The last image we have of France was not only a loss to Italy, but also the now infamous head-butting incident between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi. Sadly, that will be one of the world lasting images of Zidane because he has since retired.

That retirement, coupled with long-time keeper Fabian Barthez’s departure, is the only noticeable change for France. With Barthez following the footsteps of Zidane, 35-year old Gregory Coupet finally gets his shot between the posts. Fans shouldn’t worry about his age because the French defense is beyond solid. They allowed a grand total of five goals in qualifying thanks in part to the solid play of Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele in the middle of the field.

As for the offense, it doesn’t get any better than Thierry Henry and his 44 international goals coming into 2008. As a quick side note, I still find it hard to watch Henry dressed in a Barcelona kit as opposed to his Arsenal kit. Weird. Joining Henry on the attack is Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda, who should help France score a few goals.

It is almost commonplace to find Italy part of any tournament. Whether it be a Euro tournament or World Cup, it’s very rare that the Azzurri aren’t present. The 2006 World Cup champions are confident that they can add another trophy to their already impressive collection of hardware.

The chances that Roberto Donadoni’s squad could actually qualify for this summer’s tournament got off to a slow start. They lost a 3-1 match in Paris shortly after the World Cup and drew 1-1 with Lithuania. Despite this deficiency, Italy regained its form and is looking toward June.

One of its strengths is goalkeeping. It doesn’t get much better than Gianluigi Buffon in net. That coupled with Fabio Cannavaro and Marco Materazzi playing back makes me wonder how Romania will fair against Italy.

Still no reseeding, huh?

20 years ago, the Netherlands won the Euro behind Marco van Basten’s five goals. van Basten is now in charge of one final run in this years tournament. He will step down after the Euro comes to its conclusion. If you’re a believer in numbers and things happening a certain amount of years apart, then the Netherlands could surprise a lot of people.

Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar is, in my opinion, the best goalie in the world. I’ve seen enough Man. U games to assess something like that. Because of his stellar play, only five goals were given up during qualifying and that allowed van Basten a lot of room to let his midfielders to roam and be creative.

This tactic is permissible because van Basten has three of the most impressive midfielders in the world. Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Robin van Persie will possibly be the most important players if the Netherlands is to go through the group stage.

One thing to watch is Ruud van Nistelrooy’s chase for Patrick Kluivert’s Dutch record of 40 international goals. van Nistelrooy is 10 behind, but he has the capability to catch fire and move to the top of that list. He is perhaps the most noticeable name on the Dutch team because of his time with Manchester United from 2001-2006.

It’s a bit nerve racking to think of Romania facing the teams in this group. It’s been so long since I’ve actually seen them in action that I’m not sure what to expect. There were a few friendly games that I caught and everything looked to be in pretty good shape.

I’ve already mentioned this a few times, but it’s been 10 years since Romania has been involved in a competitive tournament. It wouldn’t surprise me to seem them full of nerves when they face France in their opening match.

Coach Victor Piturca’s tendency is attack-minded, but not to the point where it becomes reckless or detrimental. The discipline that Romania showed during qualifications allowed striker Adrian Mutu to shine. Mutu could finally become an established name if he has a tremendous Euro.

Mutu’s style is specialized in free kicks and coming on strong from the left side. Helping Mutu up front will be Ciprian Marica. Marica gets in between opponents defenses and looks to steal away goals. Both men scored 11 combined goals during qualifying.

Another thing that could help Romania is fresh legs at any given time. Piturca used 39 different players while trying to get to Austria/Switzerland. The coach said that the team doesn’t “depend upon one player or another.”

I hope that the down years for Romania allowed them to assemble a good team that can advance in not only in this tournament, but for many tournaments to come. We’re a little over three weeks away from Romania’s first game, but the tension is, as they say, palpable.

Match Schedules

2008.06.09 (18:00) Romania v. France
2008.06.09 (20:45) Netherlands v. Italy

2008.06.13 (18:00) Italy v. Romania
2008.06.13 (20:45) Netherlands v. France

2008.06.17 (20:45) Netherlands v. Romania
2008.06.17 (20:45) France v. Italy